News

Studio updates.

Freedom of movement 23 - Warsaw

Richard is British. English. He grew up in Oxford, and worked for a company in the city after returning from university. Given the choice between losing his job or being re-located to Warsaw, where, he chose the latter, and he has lived here for about a year.

Richard is a Conservative voter. He reads The Telegraph, and voted to leave - but says he might now reconsider. He feels there are lots of challenges around the EU in terms of democracy and accountability. When it comes to freedom of movement, he says he doesn’t know what it means. Will he have to show his passport to get into Czech when he goes on a family holiday to Prague in May? Will Brits will now have to get visas to visit the rest of the EU? Will he need a work permit to stay here?

Worst case scenario for Richard, he will have to go back. If that happens he says he’ll be lost. To have his livelihood taken from him would be devastating. If that happened he’d look to the US; after Brexit, the UK and US will have a stronger relationship, which he thinks could be successful.

The UK is, he feels, much closer to the US than to Europe. Even though Britain has always been part of Europe, it is separated from Europe by the English Channel, and different. Geographically and historically, we may be European, but our TV and media give us more cues from the US. Everyone in Europe looks at Britain as an awkward neighbour, although he concedes that we may have done this to ourselves by actually being an awkward neighbour.